News

The Royal Academy of Engineering has emphasised the significance of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices in the engineering industry. The report, published in partnership with Dalberg Advisors, demonstrates how prioritising EDI can drive business success, sustainable growth, and competitiveness. It highlights the benefits of EDI across people, products, partners, and processes, and recommends collaboration and leadership-driven strategies.

The research report provides compelling evidence, actionable insights, and accessible case stories to demonstrate the benefits of EDI for businesses and how it helps engineering firms of all sizes succeed. Companies that advance EDI have greater access to capital, agreements, and collaborations.

You can find out more on the EDI Engine report here: https://raeng.org.uk/edi-engine

As part of our celebrations for the International Women in Engineering Day 2024, we would like to remember the great achievement of one of our Professional Members and a Member of our Professional Board and a dedicated volunteer, Veronica Warner. Veronica is the Chief Welding Engineer based at Babcock International’s Devonport facility in Plymouth, and in November 2023 she became the first woman to win the EWF Best European Welding Coordinator!

The award was presented at EWF’s Annual General Assembly held in November 2023 in Lisbon demonstrating Veronica’s skills and determination in delivering the responsibilities of a Welding Coordinator in accordance with standards such as ISO 3834, EN 15085 or EN 1090.

This year’s theme for INWED24 is “Enhanced by Engineering” and Veronica has demonstrated her ability to combine academic learning and experience within the workplace to translate that knowledge into efficient processes which can enhance the outcome and quality of businesses.

Veronica is not only a competent engineer, but is also keen to aid in the development of others which is demonstrated via engagement with STEM activities and indeed via her volunteer contributions to The Welding Institute as just a couple of examples.

In addition to her position as head of department in Babcock's Welding and Non-Destructive Testing department, Veronica engages in these educational and supportive endeavours with an openness, empathy, and passion for her work that has earned her respect in industry.

For these reasons, we wanted to highlight Veronica’s achievement as part of our celebrations for International Women in Engineering Day 2024 and we send Veronica our best wishes moving forward.

David Wrathmall was appointed as the interim Chief Executive of The Welding Institute Group as of 29 April, 2024.

A graduate of University College London and a Chartered Management Accountant, David has held c-level positions with broad operational remits over the past 16 years. These positions, which were held across Europe and in emerging markets, included those at internationally listed companies in digital technologies, telecoms, financial services, and the research and education sectors.

Having been an active member of The Welding Institute Council and Chair of the Audit Committee, David has knowledge and experience of The Welding Institute Group activities and the challenges of recent years, such as navigating the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to internal restructuring and the recent strategic sale of land owned by The Welding Institute Group.

David brings experience of SME, corporate, publicly-funded, and membership-based organisations. He has experience in delivering cross-border organisational restructuring programmes, including mergers and acquisitions, and is keen to focus on key issues to ensure the sustainability of the Group while capturing the needs of as many Members as possible.

He explained, “Having invested three years into The Institute as a member of Council, I feel a commitment to assisting staff, our Members and the Council itself. I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet the challenges to ensure we provide value and make the Group more efficient and sustainable in managing and meeting the expectations of our Members.”

Although David’s position as interim Chief Executive is for a minimum period of six months, he recognises the sustainability of The Welding Institute Group is a long-term matter. However, during the interim, he is determined to make the right decisions regarding the Group’s future direction and investment to ensure a sustainable entity that can navigate the shifting sands of business, government and industry. Of course, this external focus will include finding opportunities that can be realised in the short term, while building for a long-term future.

Meeting the technological needs of Members is just a part of this mission, which will also encompass international training through TWI to help industry address global skills shortages in welding, joining and allied technologies.

John Hill, TWI’s Director of Technology, has been recognised for his services to SMEs, to the research institutes sector, to local economic development and to higher education, in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

John has been awarded an OBE following a career spanning 10 years in manufacturing, 30 in research institutes and 5 in central and local government.

John joined PERA, the Production Engineering Research Association, in 1988 as a Chartered Engineer, specialising in engineering polymers and composites. There he rose to become its Director of Technology in 2000 and its Chief Executive in 2008. In the 90s he built an international network of research institutes focused on helping thousands of small firms to innovate, providing the money and the scientific expertise for them to develop hundreds of innovative new products. Later, between 2000 and 2015, he developed management techniques for helping small firms grow faster and for longer, piloting these first in the East Midlands, then establishing a national small firm growth coaching programme. This went on to help 20,000 small firms accelerate their growth, creating 75,000 jobs.

He then spent a spell in Government, first in Whitehall responsible for increasing exports from small firms nationally, then as Director of Business & Skills for the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Metro-Mayor. There he saw the challenges facing his home city, Peterborough, a higher education “cold spot” with only 32 per cent of the population having degree level qualifications, compared to a national average of 43 per cent. Peterborough also ranks 191st out of 324 local authority districts for social mobility, with Fenland ranked 319th. To help tackle this, he developed an idea to improve education and skills in the city especially designed to help solve the problem. To make it a reality, he overcame the obstacles that for 20 years had prevented the establishment of a university in the city and within 30 months had gathered together a wide range of partners to help raise £80m to build what has become the multi-award-winning [1]  ARU Peterborough.

He has served as both Director of Membership and Director of Technology at TWI since 2022.

Upon hearing the news John commented, “I am incredibly humbled to have been recognised in this way, and much of the credit goes to the many inspiring and dedicated colleagues I’ve had the privilege to work with along the way. Across my thirty years in the research institute sector, I’ve been constantly in awe of the brilliance and innovation of the individuals and teams I’ve worked with. Equally in the public sector, I’ve been amazed by the capacity for compassion and the readiness to come together to help change life chances and opportunity for others.”

David Wrathmall, TWI’s Interim Chief Executive Officer said, “TWI’s Members and staff congratulate John on this award and we are very pleased to have someone with his experience and achievements as part of our management team. He has been with us for only a brief time, but has made a big impression, and already helped us transition our Technology business from a long period of losses into profit, grown our sales and deepened our engagement with our Members."

Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough commented, “Huge congratulations to John for this honour which is a fitting testament to his exceptional contributions over a distinguished career spanning nearly five decades. His hard work and pioneering approach has not only stimulated growth and job creation but have also made a significant impact on skills development and regeneration, particularly here in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. His passion for this region is clear and we look forward to seeing even more fantastic achievements in the future.”

Professor Ross Renton, Principal of ARU Peterborough commented, “I extend my congratulations to John for his well-deserved recognition in the Honours List. He has played an instrumental role in helping to realise the decades-long ambition to establish a university for Peterborough. Since opening to students in 2022, ARU Peterborough has gone from strength to strength, and this award is a fitting honour for the hard work and dedication shown by John in helping to raise skills levels across the region. It has been a pleasure to work with John as part of the partnership team who have been delivering this multi-award-winning university.”

([1]  Recent award won by ARU linked to ARU Peterborough; University of the Year, UK Social Mobility Awards 2023, Winner of the University Impact Initiative of the Year Award, AUDE 2023, Shortlisted for Higher Education Project, AJ Architecture Awards 2023, Shortlisted for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community, THE Awards 2023 Regional Finalist, Civic Trust Awards 2024.)

Our Structures and Infrastructure Technical Group will be hosting their next meeting, from 11:00AM – 12:00PM (UK time) on 11 July 2024.

The event is titled ‘The Carbon Borders Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Steel’.

Attendees will gain an insight into the ‘carbon trading’ system that will affect what we pay for imported steel in the UK and how the system will affect what we export.

Who Should Attend?

All those involved with imported and exported steel, pre and post fabrication.

Speaker and Presentation:

• Tony Corrie, Barrett Steel

Register here

Our Polymers and Composites /NDT and Condition Monitoring Technical Groups will be hosting their first joint meeting, from 9:30AM – 12:30PM (UK time) on 6 June 2024.

The event is titled, ‘Is the future of polymers and composites built on a defective foundation or will NDT save the day?’

This event will highlight the various faults that can occur during the manufacturing of composites, including joining, and will also provide solutions for recognising and controlling these flaws.

Who Should Attend?

Designers, materials engineers, fabrication supervisors, quality control personnel, NDT engineers, anyone curious about composites and adhesives.

Speaker and Presentations:

• Ewen Kellar, Consultant, TWI Ltd on The Source of Detects in Adhesively Bonded Joints
• Sadik Omairey, Senior Research Fellow, Brunel Composites Centre, Brunel University London on Stochastic Simulation of Defects in Polymeric Materials
• Nathan Hartley, Section Manager, NRT and Calum Hoyle, Team Manager, NRT, TWI Ltd on Emerging THz Inspection Techniques Advanced Materials
• Pete Sheppard, Senior Naval Architect, RNLI on Putting it Into Practice - Composite Manufacturing and Inspection in Industry

Find out more here

The Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC) are seeking applications from experts to join their advisory bodies and peer review panels.

The STFC are seeking experts to create a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience in order to help develop and deliver national and international science programmes.

STFC advisory bodies and peer review panels perform a vital function in providing advice and guidance to aid their strategic direction and support their decision-making processes, including policies and funding decisions.

In addition, members help guide the societal impact of STFC investments and support for research and innovation communities.

As a result of joining the advisory bodies and peer review panels, members will gain the opportunity to expand their professional networks and explore a wide range of challenges related to investments in UK science and engineering.

With a deadline for applicants of 20 May, 2024, there isn’t long to apply, so visit the STFC webpage to find out more, here.

Our Offshore Energy Technical Group will be hosting their second meeting of the year, from 12:00PM – 2:00PM (UK time) on 23 May 2024.

The event, which is titled, ‘Wind Tower Generator Structures Fabrication Technologies and Quality,’ will be useful for those interested in current welding technology and fabrication standards for fabrication of heavy wall offshore structures for the offshore wind sector.

Who Should Attend?

The event should be of interest to anyone involved in design, fabrication and operation of offshore assets, with emphasis on windfarms, e.g. fabricators, designers, weld engineers, quality control personnel and windfarm developers.

Speaker and Presentations:

• Bart Theunissen, Manager Process Technology and Innovation, Sif - Practical Experience of Utilising Electron Beam Welding for Monopile Transition Piece Longitudinal Weld (Provisional)

• Stephan Marre, Technical and Applications Director, Lincoln Electric - Improved Productivity Saw Process For Wind Turbine Towers

• Declan Foley, Fabrication Quality Manager, SSER - Offshore Renewables Fabrication Standards

• TBC, Lincoln Electric - Additive Manufacturing for Offshore Wind Industry

• TBC, TWI Ltd - TBC

FIND OUT MORE

Our Offshore Energy/Pressure and Process Plant Technical Group will be hosting a webinar on 9 May 2024 at 9:00AM till 11:30AM (UK Time)

During this event, ‘Approach to Inspection of Ageing Plant in Late Life and Life Extension Phases’, we will highlight and compare the way in which different industry sectors approach the management of inspection and integrity as the plant they are operating enters the late life phase and possibly beyond its original design life. Integrity management strategies operate under differing legislative regimes and constraints, as well as operational and financial.

This event will detail how different industries modify and reassess their asset integrity management and maintenance strategies as a plant ages, including demonstrations of continuing fitness-for-service requirements for ageing plants.

Who should attend?

Integrity management, inspection and plant operations personnel interested in how different industrial sectors manage their approach to inspection, maintenance and engineering assessment in late life and life extension phases.

Speakers and Presentation Titles:

Matt Henderson, SSE Renewables – Integrity management within SSE’s offshore wind portfolio, and planning for life extension.

Laura Scott, TAQA – TBC

Speaker 3 – TBC

Speaker 4 – TBC

Discover more: https://theweldinginstitute.com/event-5652437

Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a worldwide plan that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions and celebrates different minds about neurological differences, whilst providing opportunities to recognise the talents and the positive aspects.

Throughout the week there will be activities which everyone can get involved in, including inspirational speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions. These speakers will focus on key neurodiversity topics and will aim to educate. All of these events are free of charge and anyone can access them.

Siena Castellon, founder of Neurodiversity Celebration Week said “I founded Neurodiversity Celebration Week in 2018 because I wanted to change the way learning differences are perceived. As a teenager who is autistic and has ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia, my experience has been that people often focus on the challenges of neurological diversity. I wanted to change the narrative and create a balanced view which focuses equally on our talents and strengths.”

What is Neurodiversity?

Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences, such as autism, ADHA, dyslexia, and others, are natural variations of the human brain rather than disorders that need to be cured or fixed it. It emphasizes the value of embracing these differences and promoting acceptance, inclusion, and support for neurodiverse individuals in society.

To get involved click here: Neurodiversity Celebration Week (neurodiversityweek.com)